Richard Garriott hits Kickstarter with multiplayer RPG

Shroud of the Avatar combines online, offline play

The creator of Ultima Online (yay!) and Tabula Rasa (yikes!) is pitching Lord British fans through Kickstarter, in a bid to create a new multiplayer RPG.

Shroud of the Avatar, which can be played both online and offline, is a spiritual successor to Garriot's Ultima games--EA owns the rights to the RPG series. It blends classical mechanics like an overworld and character customization with an emphasis on meaningful encounters between players.

Garriott insists the game isn't an MMORPG, though elements like crafting, player housing, and player vs. player combat all figure prominently. No word on whether Lord British (or maybe his trademark-dodging cousin Duke English) will appear.

Portalarium needs $1,000,000 to complete development on the game, and is already more $200,000 deep on the first day of its campaign.